Monday, September 1, 2008

Bunny has come along for the ride and is quite excited about all the places she will be visiting. She had a good night's sleep just like Shannon.

We woke early, enjoyed a continental breakfast at our motel, and spent a little time reshuffling the contents of the car where we're sitting. Since we're going to be spending so much time in the car, we need to have certain things accessible and other things can be put away in the back.

We thought Nevada was going to be just bare desert. How wrong we were! It is a beautiful state with spectacular scenery. The desert is alive! Along the road were miles of rocks piles and formations. It felt like we were ant-size in a sand box for giants.

Just before leaving Nevada, David and the kids ventured into a casino very briefly so they could get an idea of what these places are like. Here are their impressions:

an arcade for older grown-ups

loud

dark

freaky

bright lights

"hypnosis chamber"

"time freezer"

like the "Matrix" (everything is done to help the people forget the outside world or your time and location)

In the afternoon we crossed over into Idaho. Bunny was found checking out the bushes.

Just outside of Twin Falls, ID, we stopped to see the "Niagra Falls of the West." Anyone want to figure out where we were?

We loved the Idaho farm fields and were fascinated with the different designs for irrigation sprinklers. Bunny wanted to get a closer look.

In California, we have "happy cows," but in Idaho they have "scared cows." Actually, these cows had escaped from their field and were standing by the side of the road. They became startled when we stopped to take their picture and high tailed it back to where they belonged right away.

We take periodic stops to stretch and visit "the facilities." The kids have some fun acting out super hero antics. Can you identify which juvenile is which character?

Our rest stop happened to be right beside a section of the Oregon Trail. We could see genuine ruts left from the covered wagons traveling right over this spot. There was a hill next to this spot, and the emigrants had to get their wagons up and over the hill. We're so glad to have our Sienna!

As we continued to head east, the sun started going down and the rain began to fall. God displayed for us a beautiful rainbow, stretching from one side of the road to the other.

Our plan was to make it all the way to Jackson, WY, for the night. However, as we were nearing the ID/WY border, we realized we had a mountain to climb in the pitch black of night and in pouring rain. We pulled over to pray about which route to take and what to do about the driving conditions. We decided to turn around and go back a different route and find a place to stay for the night. Within a matter of yards we came across a little group of cabins that had a "Vacancy" sign displayed. We ended up staying at the most wonderful little cozy cabin with a kitchen, a living room, and a separate bedroom. Anyone coming to Swan Valley, ID, would be well taken care of at the Sleepy "J" Cabins.